A Future for Public Service Media

With continuing wide interest in the purpose and funding of public service media, including the BBC, Robin  Foster has set out some of the choices facing PSMs in an article for InterMedia, the journal of the International Institute of Communications.

 
Robin suggests PSMs should consider hybrid funding, more investment in on-demand content, fewer linear networks, and a twin-track focus on news and popular local content.  Whatever strategies are chosen, he argues, PSMs face tough times ahead, especially in smaller markets.

A Future for Public Service Television

In this submission to the ‘A Future for Public Service Television’ inquiry, Robin Foster considers the future relevance of PST, its appropriate scale and how it should best be structured to ensure ongoing success

Access to platforms and findability of content

Robin Foster presented to an EBU workshop, addressing the case for making public service content available and findable in a changing world. In particular he considered the impact of new content gateways, and concluded that there is still a case for regulatory intervention to support prominence for public service content

Designing a New Model of Public Service Television

Robin Foster has contributed an essay, “Designing a New Model of Public Service Television”, to the recently published book “A Future for Public Service Television”, in which a number of writers reflect on the issues raised in Lord Puttnam’s 2016 Public Service TV Inquiry.

In “Designing a New Model of PST”, Robin Foster argues that there is still a significant role for public service television, but that it must change radically to reflect the new environment in which it operates. Robin suggests closer scrutiny of the types of content for which public funding should be used, and urges a pro-active move from broadcasting to on-demand distribution. He suggests that institutions like the BBC should be more open, diverse and devolved in their approach to commissioning, production and distribution. He also makes the case for new sources of voluntary funding (subscription, membership fees etc) alongside public funding like the licence fee.

Plurality and the Future of PSBs

Robin Foster has authored a short paper on the role and importance of plurality in public service broadcasting.

You can download the paper here.